Living in Blue Hill, Maine: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 8.4% below the U.S. average in the parts of Maine outside metro areas.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Blue Hill itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Mt Desert Island High School, about 11 miles away.
A hospital close byNorthern Light Blue Hill Memorial Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityBoston is about 190 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Blue Hill meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

Tourist town. About 28% of homes are vacation or seasonal homes, a sign of a visitor economy. More restaurants, shops and weekend events than locals alone could support, with the small-town basics intact.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $399,500U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 28%Hancock County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income: $80,377U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 80%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $2,907 a yearMaine: $3,036
Homes built before 1940: 18%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 18%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 28%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 91.6U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Maine outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 28% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Maine outside metro areas, not Blue Hill alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 2,7982020: 2,790
Median age: 48.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 30%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 18%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 38%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 11%U.S.: 6%
College students: 6%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Schools, health care and social services (20%); finance, insurance and real estate (12%)
Work from home: 21%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 5%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Northern Light Blue Hill Memorial Hospital, Blue Hill, ME, in town. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Northern Light Maine Coast Hospital, Ellsworth, ME, about 11 miles away. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

1 public school in Blue Hill, run by Blue Hill Public Schools. The nearest public high school is Mt Desert Island High School, about 11 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Maine's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet: 64%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 91%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 11°F
July average high: 77°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 1 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 162 a year
Rain and melted snow: 48.8 inches a year
Snow: 72 inches a year
Elevation: 40 feet

Weather stations: E Surry (7 miles away) and Belfast (23 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Portland, MECity of 70,00098

Boston, MAMetro of 5 million190

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Portland, Boston.

Hancock County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 8, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Blue Hill Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Acadia National Park8 miles
Frances Perkins National Monument57 miles

Read about Blue Hill's history on Wikipedia.

Know Blue Hill?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Surry, ME1,700 people, 5 miles
Sedgwick, ME1,200 people, 7 miles
Trenton, ME1,700 people, 8 miles
Penobscot, ME1,200 people, 10 miles
Tremont, ME1,600 people, 11 miles
Mount Desert, ME2,200 people, 11 miles

Smaller places

Brooklin, ME827 people, 10 miles
Brooksville, ME933 people, 12 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.